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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23703400">A black belt Admiral.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shackett74/pseuds/Shackett74'>Shackett74</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:29:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,942</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23703400</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shackett74/pseuds/Shackett74</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>With some help of Liara T'Soni, Shepard finds out one of the ways (or two actually) Admiral Sexy Pants keeps in shape...</p><p>One shot taking place somewhere during the end of ME 2 in 2185, or early beginning of 2186 and that reconnects with the original idea of Admiral Hackett likely using some type of sport that combines the physical fitness for both mind and body, with his interest for history = Budo ("Martial arts").<br/><br/>NOTE: Based on Transformations and Beginnings Anew and develops some things from there. Thus it might fit best contextually from the series part II, chapters 7 and forward.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A black belt Admiral.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This one-shot connects Hackett's extreme ability to focus at the matters at hand with his attention to details, over to how he stays in shape, and also the in-game reference to swords ("Sword fleet" in ME3).   </p><p>Also, the one-shots of which this is one, are intended to widen our knowledge of the characters in especially Transformations and Beginnings Anew-series), but without being part of that same main series (which is long enough).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong> Normandy </strong>
</p><p>Liara certainly knew how to get Shepard's interest.</p><p>
  <em>Aries,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Here's something you might find interesting to watch..</em>
</p><p>
  <em>LTS</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The enigmatic mail from her friend contained a mysterious attachment and a title Jane had no clue what it referred to.</p><p>“Kyoto 2165, Kendo and Iaido 1 dan competition"</p><p><em>Kendo? Iaido? </em> <em>Hmm... sounds like an exotic dish or something..</em></p><p>"Okay, let's see what this is," she murmured and opened the attachment on the minuscule interface screen of her M-tool.</p><p>Just as she was about to ask EDI to do some enhancing magic and put it up on the cabin’s screen, her breath stuck in her throat as she recognized a serious-looking man in her own age. With sweaty hair not yet grizzled but rather a light brown nuance and a scar on the right cheek glowering more reddish than nowadays...</p><p><em>Shit, that’s Hackett! </em>When the vid started he sat on his knees to one side of a soft, very large mat closer to a hundred feet long and maybe sixty feet wide. Others were up on the mat and seemed to be warming up, but all seemed very focused and solemn. On the smaller edge of the mat were a platform with seats for maybe a hundred or so people, and directly in front of it some black-clad referees. Or so she assumed. </p><p>
  <em>But what are they doing?..</em>
</p><p>"EDI I've received a video attachment to my private account that I'd like to enhance on the cabin screen instead. But only if it doesn't reveal and relay address or content to Cerberus."</p><p>"Yes Commander, you simply do the same way as I instructed with your playlists. But I'll assist."</p><p>"Bless you, EDI."</p><p>With the vid enhanced on her larger cabin screen instead, she saw individuals with jackets and wide black pants of heavy-duty linen or cotton in white, dark blue or black colors, and with black belts wrapped several times around their waists. Some moved around barefoot and independently from each other with fluid motions on a gigantic, soft mat, wielding with perfect detail what looked like metal swords with a slightly curved blade.</p><p><em>Warming up? But for what? </em>she wondered bewildered and watched how others sat peacefully on their knees around the edges of that giant, square mat, as if they were contemplating or even resting. </p><p>The vid switched sequence and all but four participants, among them the younger Hackett, were gone from the large mat. Instead he and his companions - or competitors - seemed involved in some sort of elaborate and ritualistic pattern of repetitive bows and maneuvers, before they all finally knelt in a very smooth and controlled manner.<br/>Jane looked on wide-eyed, excited and fascinated how the Admiral calmly put his large hands on his strong thighs and seemed to rest momentarily. The black sword sheath had been attached in his belt again as he and the others began a short series of unsheathing their swords, a few deliberate moves of cutting and parrying - then sheating their swords and sitting down. Only to repeat the procedure but with another pattern, all four in their own tempo.</p><p>"Huh!" she exclaimed when Hackett delicately and swiftly sheathed his sword again and sat down, only to soon begin a third round of a short series. </p><p><em>What </em>was <em>this!?</em> Shepard wondered baffled. And if those swords were sharp, how did they manage <em>not</em> to cut their fingers off?</p><p>It was confusing and very intriguing at the same time for an expert soldier trained to execute missions and kills as swiftly as possible.</p><p>Here they moved like zombies.<br/>First she laughed at the funny notion that popped up in her mind, but strange thing was that even without knowing what they did, she recognized the same composed concentration every warrior carried before a battle.</p><p>Obviously it was a competition of some sort, but swordplay certainly wasn't the common way to fight nowadays - nor in 2165, for that matter. But still there was a beauty to it, the mastery and delicate moves as much as in the composed air and perfection of their moves.</p><p>Maybe <em>that</em> was the aim, she wondered? </p><p>On-screen the men rose once more and unsheathed their swords again with those remarkably fluid and beautiful motions, and to Shepard, it was almost as if they put intentional attention to drawing and sheathing their swords, and as that understanding finally hit her, the special forces soldier in her was again spellbound with the intricate patterns of the masterly performed blows, slashes and parrying.</p><p>Those men didn't even seem aware of each other and definitely not the deeply focused Hackett who seemed almost one with his sword and movements, at least in her humble opinion. </p><p><em>No wonder that man radiated such composure and badassery!</em> an admiring sigh left her when she heard a loud and clear swooshing sound from Hackett's blade as he swiftly cut down sideways. That restrained force and balance these moves demanded from Hackett, all of them, impressed her deeply, especially as he kept a very low center of gravity with his body, which must strain his thighs to the extreme. But he didn't even flinch, nor did the others.</p><p>It must demand an immense strength to wield a heavy metal sword weighing several pounds, making it look like a feather in their hands. And watching Hackett literally took her breath away, his presence, appearance and movements were breathtaking.</p><p>Gratitude and frustration battled inside her as she sent a thought to her friend, <em>thanks Liara for making my deep crush develop into an insane one,</em> her inner sentence dripping with irony. And by the way, why the hell did Liara send her this at all? Shepard hadn't told a soul of her crush on Admiral Hackett not wanting to risk making a fool of herself.</p><p>So maybe the reason behind this vid was the greater mystery..</p><p>Then a new sequence began and interrupted her thoughts - the other sequence might have lasted ten minutes tops, and nothing revealed how Hackett might have succeeded as she didn't understand Chinese. Or was it Japanese?<br/><em>Bah, it's Japanese of course!</em>, berating herself Jane saw pairs dressed in the same dark blue or black martial arts outfits as Hackett, entering the large mat and wearing weird-looking helmets, chest plates, shoulder guards and plated wrist gloves.<br/><br/>All the participants also had what looked like wooden sticks in their hands, she supposed they were a kind of sword, though. The majority of them sat quietly around the edges of the mat and prepared themselves solemnly, putting on the weird armor parts.</p><p>It looked to Jane as if the first pairs simply stood there opposite of each other after bowing and curtsying politely, just hinting and hitting each other's sword tips like some sort of half measure.</p><p>A <em>how strange...</em> was however all she had time to think before a loud explosion of motion and cries suddenly erupted between the two masked opponents. If the former sequence had showed her slow and expertly performed moves, these moves were almost too fast for an human eye to follow.<br/>She hadn't even had time to perceive who hit whom, but their striking hits and moves were very neat and agile, and appeared to be aimed at the wrists or the head of their opponent. </p><p>Once more she saw on the younger version of the Admiral, following his every move where he knelt on one side of the mat, deeply focused on fastening a piece of blue and white bandana-like cloth around his brown hair. A new angle thankfully allowed her to observe him better and she gulped at his striking, solemn demeanor. He was obviously going to participate in the duels and it seemed to be his turn soon.</p><p>Purposefully he put on the wide, weird-looking helmet with its horizontal metal grids in front of the face and began fixating the large helmet with several elaborate knots.<br/>Finally Hackett put on the large protective gloves with the flat and stiff protection on top of the hands. His wooden sword - stick - lay in front of him. </p><p>Wide-eyed Shepard saw him walk confidently and calmly out onto their part of the mat where the opponents bowed deeply to each other and to the referee. Again she saw Hackett positioning himself in a quite low position again, but with his swords aimed up so both their tips almost touched each other in a neutral guarding position.</p><p>Hackett radiated a focused and calm patience she could sense - it was in <em>her</em> abdomen maniac butterflies flew wildly! Twenty years after this duel had taken place she sat in her cabin and watched devoutly as Hackett and his opponent began with the small dipping movements with the tip of their swords as she'd seen before. <br/>First they moved cautiously around each other and apparently trying each other out, looking for a vulnerable spot.   </p><p>That she could tell, when his opponent suddenly hit Hackett's wrist in a blink of an eye which also seemed to give the opponent the point. <em>Damn, they're so fast!</em></p><p>"Come ON, Hackett!" It didn't matter if it was a twenty-year-old competition to her, Jane was completely engulfed and yelled her cheering at the screen.</p><p>Their speed was alluring and soon a new cheers echoed in the Captain's cabin as Hackett picked up the speed and counterattacked several times with a blow to the wrist. That opened up their match and more of those whirlwind attacks and sudden cries echoed in the hall as points were awarded each one. Even the quiet audience became more active, and maybe it was because the younger Hackett seemed to be one of the very few non-Asian participants here.</p><p>It was captivating to watch even though she didn't see his face, his few cries were low but had force to them, and in the end of their match Hackett managed to deliver a beautiful, direct hit at the top his opponent's helmet, close to the eye.</p><p>As far as she could understand that hit ended the game in his favor - but she couldn't tell, and it seemed as if it wasn't appropriate to show emotions either.</p><p>Soon after their match the video ended and she sat in silence for a moment. <em>Woah, that was intense! </em></p><p>The few times she saw him on vid or in real life he always acted confidently and reassuringly while this vid had allowed her to observe a younger Hackett, almost as good looking as today - almost, and whirlwind fast reflexes, all some scenes from his life and hobbies that she, of course, hadn't had one clue about before. </p><p>Jane was grateful to Liara. She really, really was, this vid had been such an amazing surprise and a rare opportunity to glimpse something from his life she never would have known about otherwise. But it also befuddled her as to why Liara had sent her this, to begin with...</p><p>I suppose I have to have to write and ask her, she murmured with a shrug. The entire vid had lasted less than half an hour and still it felt as if she had stepped into a whole new world, like an Alice in Wonderland.</p><p>But no wonder the dancing in her vivid dream had made it feel like Hackett had the sexiest shoulder and latissimus dorsi ever!<br/>Or, how his uniform could fit him that well... The man was obviously fit as a fiddle.</p><p> </p><p>As she rose to head down to grab a meal with Big guy and the others, she only had one slight, but very important, objection to these fascinating sports she just had witnessed.</p><p> </p><p>A shotgun - or biotics - was <em>way</em> more effective. Definitely.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>:-)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The blue and white cloth he wore underneath the kendo helmet represents his Argentinian roots. ;-)</p><p>For the curious, feel free to have a look at kendo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etNquUqWqC4</p></blockquote></div></div>
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